Texas Law
Jan 26th 2005, 1:01 pm
#31
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Texas Law
Originally Posted by Celtic_Angel
i did live there, for 5 years!! 
glad to leave...went back last month for a visit to see ol'friends and had a blast!! 
I told you i don't get out too much i've never met another welsh person my full 8 yrs!!! i had a Scotsman think i was from New Zealand a few months back :scared:
lost my beautiful N.Wales accent
glad to leave...went back last month for a visit to see ol'friends and had a blast!! I told you i don't get out too much i've never met another welsh person my full 8 yrs!!! i had a Scotsman think i was from New Zealand a few months back :scared: lost my beautiful N.Wales accent
PM'd you
Jan 26th 2005, 1:05 pm
#32
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Texas Law
Originally Posted by Tami2
Sorry girls,
Just got them all down, I hope!
It's not really that bad. Just the youngest that still needs help with bathing and all. She's just turned 5 in November, then there's my son, who's going to be 12 in a couple of weeks. Next is another girl, almost 15 and finally the eldest is a girl, 20 and going to university here at Penn State.
Yes, my Hubby is originally from Iran. He came here in 1978 to go to college and the rest is History. We were married in 1984 and have lived in Indiana (my home state), Kentucky, Illinois (Chicago suburbs), Pennsylvania, Texas (I'm the one who lived in Clear Lake, LOL), and just before coming back here last June, we lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for four years. We are supposed to all be together in Dubai, but there was no space in either of the American schools there last Spring, so the kids and I came here for the school year and Hubby moved to Dubai alone to open his own firm. He's starting his own business, so he's constantly traveling. He makes it over to see us every 8 weeks or so. But like I said, this life is getting old. I have absolutely NO social life, which is 180 degrees from our normal life. We have always been very social (Iranians love to have big dinner parties) and had loads of friends. Our place here in PA is actally smack in the middle of a retirement community. I'm the ONLY one with kids and no one else here is anywhere near my age (41). The youngest neighbor is 67. It's such FUN!!!
The road construction around Houston never ends. We put up with it the entire 5 years we lived there, but we LOVED Clear Lake and our subdivision. We were 10 minutes from NASA and the kids schools were AMAZING. My oldest went to Space Center Intermediate, which is actually on NASA property! It was great and I really miss it.
And finally, I love Scots. Duncan McLeod is my Fantasy man! Of course I know the actor who portrayed him is a Brit, but close enough. My lifelong dream is to have a month alone sometime to tramp around Scotland, looking at all the castles and ruins. Someday...
Just got them all down, I hope!
It's not really that bad. Just the youngest that still needs help with bathing and all. She's just turned 5 in November, then there's my son, who's going to be 12 in a couple of weeks. Next is another girl, almost 15 and finally the eldest is a girl, 20 and going to university here at Penn State.
Yes, my Hubby is originally from Iran. He came here in 1978 to go to college and the rest is History. We were married in 1984 and have lived in Indiana (my home state), Kentucky, Illinois (Chicago suburbs), Pennsylvania, Texas (I'm the one who lived in Clear Lake, LOL), and just before coming back here last June, we lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for four years. We are supposed to all be together in Dubai, but there was no space in either of the American schools there last Spring, so the kids and I came here for the school year and Hubby moved to Dubai alone to open his own firm. He's starting his own business, so he's constantly traveling. He makes it over to see us every 8 weeks or so. But like I said, this life is getting old. I have absolutely NO social life, which is 180 degrees from our normal life. We have always been very social (Iranians love to have big dinner parties) and had loads of friends. Our place here in PA is actally smack in the middle of a retirement community. I'm the ONLY one with kids and no one else here is anywhere near my age (41). The youngest neighbor is 67. It's such FUN!!!
The road construction around Houston never ends. We put up with it the entire 5 years we lived there, but we LOVED Clear Lake and our subdivision. We were 10 minutes from NASA and the kids schools were AMAZING. My oldest went to Space Center Intermediate, which is actually on NASA property! It was great and I really miss it.
And finally, I love Scots. Duncan McLeod is my Fantasy man! Of course I know the actor who portrayed him is a Brit, but close enough. My lifelong dream is to have a month alone sometime to tramp around Scotland, looking at all the castles and ruins. Someday...
Hey
Firstly, if you ever venture back to Houston, let me know and we can meet up
Also, same with the Scottish thing, if ever this happen, let me know, my friends love Americans and are so happy to be tour guides in Scotland for complete strangers, on recommendation of Scottish friends in the US
By the way, you cant be a Scottish castle LOL
Jan 26th 2005, 1:27 pm
#33
Yes, Master...
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: U.S./Dubai
Posts: 1,159
Re: Texas Law
Originally Posted by Perfumdiva1
Hey
Firstly, if you ever venture back to Houston, let me know and we can meet up
Also, same with the Scottish thing, if ever this happen, let me know, my friends love Americans and are so happy to be tour guides in Scotland for complete strangers, on recommendation of Scottish friends in the US
By the way, you cant be a Scottish castle LOL
Firstly, if you ever venture back to Houston, let me know and we can meet up
Also, same with the Scottish thing, if ever this happen, let me know, my friends love Americans and are so happy to be tour guides in Scotland for complete strangers, on recommendation of Scottish friends in the US
By the way, you cant be a Scottish castle LOL
But, seriously, thanks, I'll remember that!
Jan 26th 2005, 1:36 pm
#34
Back Again
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Virtual Reality
Posts: 10,831
Re: Texas Law
Originally Posted by Tami2
Can you guarantee I'll find Duncan McLeod in one of them?
But, seriously, thanks, I'll remember that!
But, seriously, thanks, I'll remember that!
"drool"
Jan 26th 2005, 1:44 pm
#35
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Texas Law
Originally Posted by Tami2
Can you guarantee I'll find Duncan McLeod in one of them?
But, seriously, thanks, I'll remember that!
But, seriously, thanks, I'll remember that!
Who's Duncan McLeod???????
Jan 27th 2005, 3:13 am
#36
I still love a brit :0)
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Georgia
Posts: 3,120
Re: Texas Law
Originally Posted by Perfumdiva1
Oh how horrible
Any way you could relocate to be near to your children??
Any way you could relocate to be near to your children??
We want to live here and until it is down on paper that we can't and the kid's can't, we're here still fighting. X has no friends OR family there, he's from Ohio. All of my firends and family basically live next to me, birth parents as well as adoptive parents.
We never saw this coming.
Feb 4th 2005, 12:26 am
#37
Back Again
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Virtual Reality
Posts: 10,831
Re: Texas Law
Well so much for my gripe...i almost feel like a sissy complaining about it when I watched the local news last night, what some kids have to go through to get to school in this city amazes and saddens me
Kids Dodge Trains To Get To School
City Tries To Get Railroad To End Long StopsPOSTED: 2:55 pm CST February 3, 2005
UPDATED: 10:03 pm CST February 3, 2005
HOUSTON -- A common route to school has some children dodging trains stopped on tracks, sacrificing their safety to get to school on time, the Local 2 Troubleshooters reported in an exclusive investigation Thursday.
Over and over again, Local 2 saw the same danger day after day.
Undercover cameras caught teenagers trying to help girls maneuver between rail cars on their way to school. Other young kids don't get any help as they snuck underneath the train, even though it could jerk to a start at any second.
"It (is) happening in the morning. We go to school. Every day we be late," said Lionel Irving, a student.
For school kids just east of downtown Houston, crossing the railroad tracks is the only way for them to walk to and from class at Anson Jones Elementary School, 2311 Canal, in the Houston Independent School District.
But almost daily, trains stop and block the crossing. Sometimes, they stop 30 minutes or longer. That's when the danger begins.
Local 2 watched one teenager actually pass his bicycle between the steel wheels of the train.
If the train restarts, it could tangle him up with his bike with no way out.
But it's not just kids testing the train. Adults watched their footing as they climbed through moving trains. Neighbors say even parents sometimes carry baby strollers through.
"All the parents, we complain. The schools are complaining but they're not doing nothing," said Keisha Stevens, a concerned parent.
"Now I'm finding out it's being ignored. It bothers me. It bothers me a lot. It makes me pray more and more and more that something doesn't happen to one of these children," said Howard Lee, a father of five children.
Neighbors have complained to Houston City Hall for at least four years because it's also slowing medical help when they need it.
A sick person just across the tracks had to wait an extra eight minutes for an ambulance to cross the tracks.
But despite the complaints, Local 2's hidden cameras found Union Pacific trains parking nearly every day, before and after school.
When the Troubleshooters' cameras caught one train parking on the tracks for 20 minutes after school, students started tossing book bags over and climbing through. One by one, they took the chance.
In the 20 minutes the train stopped, Local 2 counted at least 35 kids going under or through the train.
"The fear is the kids trying to cross over the trains, under -- they don't know if the train's going to move," Stevens said.
Councilman Adrian Garcia represents the neighborhood. He said the city has pushed for years, but Union Pacific will not fix the problem. The trains continue to stop there day after day.
"I would challenge them -- if another child is hurt or killed -- I would challenge them to go apologize to that child's mother for their lack of leadership," Garcia said.
Betty Ross got no such apology even after her then-9-year-old son lost the lower part of his leg going to school crossing the tracks.
"How would they feel if one of their children … how would they feel? I know they'd want to do something about it," Ross said.
"I want to be able to run and do what other kids do -- swing on swings and run," said Chris Solomon, Ross's son.
All that changed three years ago when Solomon tried to climb onto a train that was blocking another northeast Houston crossing. He slipped and fell, pinning his leg under the train. He's 12 now and he needs new surgery every year or so as he grows. He's afraid others his age will lose their lives on the tracks.
"I should never have done that. It really messed up my life, the things I was going to do with my future," Solomon said.
The Troubleshooters tried to ask one train conductor why the trains stop in the same crucial spot so often. He blamed the kids, saying they are all trespassing.
Local 2 had even more questions for Union Pacific's' regional vice president in Spring, but he declined the request to talk. A railroad spokesman would only say that Union Pacific works hard to keep kids off these trains citywide.
The railroad said there are several "hot zones" where trains are not allowed to stop anymore and the railroad is now studying the scope of the problem at crossings citywide.
The city told Local 2 that it is doing all it can -- installing cameras at some crossings so police can write more tickets for any train that blocks more than five minutes.
After hearing what Local 2 caught on tape, Houston Mayor Bill White wants more power to make changes.
"I want the authority to have our officers go in and impound that train and take it and auction it off or do something like that. That'll teach them a lesson and that'll clean up their act," White said.
While the city is turning up the heat, neighbors and one young survivor hope it can be fixed before there's another tragedy.
"Maybe a few kids have to die or suffer the pain," Solomon said.
Kids Dodge Trains To Get To School
City Tries To Get Railroad To End Long StopsPOSTED: 2:55 pm CST February 3, 2005
UPDATED: 10:03 pm CST February 3, 2005
HOUSTON -- A common route to school has some children dodging trains stopped on tracks, sacrificing their safety to get to school on time, the Local 2 Troubleshooters reported in an exclusive investigation Thursday.
Over and over again, Local 2 saw the same danger day after day.
Undercover cameras caught teenagers trying to help girls maneuver between rail cars on their way to school. Other young kids don't get any help as they snuck underneath the train, even though it could jerk to a start at any second.
"It (is) happening in the morning. We go to school. Every day we be late," said Lionel Irving, a student.
For school kids just east of downtown Houston, crossing the railroad tracks is the only way for them to walk to and from class at Anson Jones Elementary School, 2311 Canal, in the Houston Independent School District.
But almost daily, trains stop and block the crossing. Sometimes, they stop 30 minutes or longer. That's when the danger begins.
Local 2 watched one teenager actually pass his bicycle between the steel wheels of the train.
If the train restarts, it could tangle him up with his bike with no way out.
But it's not just kids testing the train. Adults watched their footing as they climbed through moving trains. Neighbors say even parents sometimes carry baby strollers through.
"All the parents, we complain. The schools are complaining but they're not doing nothing," said Keisha Stevens, a concerned parent.
"Now I'm finding out it's being ignored. It bothers me. It bothers me a lot. It makes me pray more and more and more that something doesn't happen to one of these children," said Howard Lee, a father of five children.
Neighbors have complained to Houston City Hall for at least four years because it's also slowing medical help when they need it.
A sick person just across the tracks had to wait an extra eight minutes for an ambulance to cross the tracks.
But despite the complaints, Local 2's hidden cameras found Union Pacific trains parking nearly every day, before and after school.
When the Troubleshooters' cameras caught one train parking on the tracks for 20 minutes after school, students started tossing book bags over and climbing through. One by one, they took the chance.
In the 20 minutes the train stopped, Local 2 counted at least 35 kids going under or through the train.
"The fear is the kids trying to cross over the trains, under -- they don't know if the train's going to move," Stevens said.
Councilman Adrian Garcia represents the neighborhood. He said the city has pushed for years, but Union Pacific will not fix the problem. The trains continue to stop there day after day.
"I would challenge them -- if another child is hurt or killed -- I would challenge them to go apologize to that child's mother for their lack of leadership," Garcia said.
Betty Ross got no such apology even after her then-9-year-old son lost the lower part of his leg going to school crossing the tracks.
"How would they feel if one of their children … how would they feel? I know they'd want to do something about it," Ross said.
"I want to be able to run and do what other kids do -- swing on swings and run," said Chris Solomon, Ross's son.
All that changed three years ago when Solomon tried to climb onto a train that was blocking another northeast Houston crossing. He slipped and fell, pinning his leg under the train. He's 12 now and he needs new surgery every year or so as he grows. He's afraid others his age will lose their lives on the tracks.
"I should never have done that. It really messed up my life, the things I was going to do with my future," Solomon said.
The Troubleshooters tried to ask one train conductor why the trains stop in the same crucial spot so often. He blamed the kids, saying they are all trespassing.
Local 2 had even more questions for Union Pacific's' regional vice president in Spring, but he declined the request to talk. A railroad spokesman would only say that Union Pacific works hard to keep kids off these trains citywide.
The railroad said there are several "hot zones" where trains are not allowed to stop anymore and the railroad is now studying the scope of the problem at crossings citywide.
The city told Local 2 that it is doing all it can -- installing cameras at some crossings so police can write more tickets for any train that blocks more than five minutes.
After hearing what Local 2 caught on tape, Houston Mayor Bill White wants more power to make changes.
"I want the authority to have our officers go in and impound that train and take it and auction it off or do something like that. That'll teach them a lesson and that'll clean up their act," White said.
While the city is turning up the heat, neighbors and one young survivor hope it can be fixed before there's another tragedy.
"Maybe a few kids have to die or suffer the pain," Solomon said.
